Beyond a Cup of Tea
by Zurizip
Summary: WendyJoker light!fluff. Wendy comes as usual for afternoon tea, but gets a bit more than she bargained for. Short and sweet. Now better, with changes provided by reviewers for a newbie!


_Well, I just saw the movie type thing on Adult Swim, and I just loved the little thing with Tea between Wendy and Mr. Joker. And in honor of me being sick and with nothing better to do, I wrote this little ficlet, which may or may not be followed by other little ficlets. Who knows? Anywho, I have no background on the genre besides the movie, so if something's wrong, it ain't my fault! So please review, and all aboard the ship!_

_Further notes: Thankyou to my reviewers, who calmly pointed out my mistakes. I must tell you that the likelihood of me ever actually getting my hands on the un-edited version of ROD, or the "ROD the TV" is slim, as I am a poor college student hopelessly in love with Inuyasha (and without a DVD player) so I am sadly at the mercy of Adult Swim (Bless their souls...) Still, I felt it was my duty to change what I know, so here goes again!_

**Beyond a Cup of Tea**

"Joker? Joker! Oof!" There was the rattling of glasses and tray as Wendy stumbled over the door jam, for the second time that day. Joker glanced up from his work, smiling slightly at the familiar noise. Wendy had caught herself and smiled helplessly when he smirked. "I'm sorry sir, it's just that lousy thresh hold, and the tea, and I'm just so clumsy..." she sighed. "But what am I saying, the tea is getting cold sir!"

Joker calmly smiled at her talk and cleared a place on his cluttered desk for the tray. As she set the tray down, he took the pot and poured first one cup, and, after a pause, another. "Will you join me today?" he asked quietly. Wendy smiled and bobbed her head in acceptance.

"Of course sir." And she sat down on the other side of the desk, taking the tea in her hands and cradling it. It was practically ritual; every day at two thirty sharp, she would bring tea, always with a small saucer of milk. She would set it down, he would smile in relief and thank her, and she would retreat to let him drink in peace. Every once in awhile, he would ask her to join him, and she always would. Today seemed different somehow though. Joker was being quiet, and usually when she joined him, he was somewhat conversational. Wendy mentally shrugged; he was not a talkative person, unlike her, why should she be surprised?

In comfortable silence, they sat for just a moment, before Joker sighed. "Wendy, did you have any family when you joined Library operations?"

Frowning slightly, she tapped her chin and shook her head. "No sir, that's part of why I did it, I had nothing to lose."

"I see." He said, and took another sip of tea. The room fell quiet again.

Hesitantly, Wendy said, "If I may inquire, sir, why do you ask?"

He didn't reply for a minute, and she wondered if perhaps she had offended him, or he simply did not wish to answer. She opened her mouth to apologize when he pushed across a newspaper. She picked it up and brought it close to her, struggling to read the fine print.

**Woman, Age 57 Dies in London Crash**

_A London woman died in a car crash that took place in the Churchill underpass on Sunday. The victim, Anita Carpeter, apparently lost control of her car when another motorist swerved in front of her. Authorities are attempting to find the car responsible, but there are no leads, and very few witnesses. Anita is survived only by her daughter, Alyssa. Her son disappeared four years ago, and her husband died two years ago of complications of the heart._

At first, it was not clear why this article had anything to do with anything, and she frowned, knowing that she must have missed something. Joker watched her face as she read it again, and comprehension dawned. "Oh..." she said quietly, and snapped her head up to look at him. "Oh." She said again, hand clenched above her heart. "Joker, I-" she shook her head, biting her lip and looking away. A hundred things played out on her face. Sadness, pity, confusion, and shock. He was surprised to see none of them, but could muster up nothing more than thankfulness that she was here.

As he stared into his teacup, he was surprised to suddenly find a pair of arms encircling his shoulders and a cheek pressed to his ear. "Wendy?" He said in surprise, though he knew it could be no one but her.

She gasped and sprang back, tripping over a pile of books in the process and landing hard on the floor. He rose to help her up, feeling a little guilty as he held his hand out. Her eyes widened visibly when she looked up to find him offering her a hand. "I'm so sorry sir, it's just..." she bit her lip again, and then continued. "She was your mother, wasn't she? It must feel awful."

He smiled sadly and indicated that she take his hand, which she did. He helped her up, and kept a hold of her hand as he explained. "She was my mother, yes. I left home for good eight years ago to work for Special Operations." He paused. "She was very proud, and happy for me, even when I had to disappear."

Wendy glanced at their hands, still clasped, and then back to his face. He looked very calm, for having just found out about his mother's death. But then, he nearly always looked calm. "Mr. Joker..."

"Harry. Harry Capenter." He smiled, "I'd like someone other than Mr. Gentleman to be able to call me by my given name."

Wendy could not stop the bubble of surprise that rose. Harry? She'd barely even paid thought to his given name; but somehow it fit him. "You don't regret coming here, do you?"

A small measure of surprise flitted across his features. "No. No, I don't. But I wish I could have said goodbye. She was a good woman."

For the second time that day, he found himself with her arms around him. Determined not to spook her again, he said nothing and instead hugged her in return and let himself rest his head on her shoulder, glad for the contact. It was good to have someone with him, it was good to have her with him.

They stayed in that quiet moment for a while, comfortable enough with each other not to worry about implications that this could have on their previously pure working relationship. Comfort in times of trouble was a human duty.

A bell rang somewhere, and he pulled away. "Tea is getting cold." He murmured.

She nodded, staring vacantly at the still faintly steaming pot. "Of course, of course." She gathered their mostly empty cups and picked up the tray as he sat at his chair again. She was about to walk out of the door when he looked up.

"Wendy."

She turned, managing not to stumble, smiling in response.

"Thank you."

She inclined her head. "Anytime, Harry."

He smiled as she left, and returned to his work.

_Thank you again to my lovely four reviewers, and any others that might come! Cheers!_


End file.
